Kanwar Yatra 2021 Dates | Kawar Yatra 2021 Dates | Kawad Yatra 2021
Kanwar Yatra Starts : July 23, 2021
Kanwar Yatra Jalabhishek : August 5, 2021
Kanwar Teerth Yatra starts on July 23 2021, the first day of the month of Sawan. It will be for two weeks.
Kanwar Yatra :
The Kanvar Yatra or Kavad Yatra is annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva, known as Kanvarias, to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch holy waters of Ganges River, Ganga Jal, which is later offered at their local Shiva temples. The Yatra takes place during the sacred month of Shravan (Saawan) (July -August), according to the Hindu calendar.
The Yatra used to be a small affair undertaken by a few saints and older devotees till the 1990s, when it started gaining popularity, today lakhs of devotees from surrounding states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and some from as far as Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh reach these places to participate in Kanwar Mela.
Pilgrims reached Haridwar, with traffic growing each year, heavy security measures are undertaken by the government and the traffic on Delhi-Haridwar national highway (National Highway 58) is diverted for the period.
Etymology : Kanwar Yatra is named after the kanvar, a single pole (usually made of bamboo) with two roughly equal loads fastened or dangling from opposite ends. The kanvar is carried by balancing the middle of the pole on one or both shoulders. The Hindi word kanvar is derived from the Sanskrit kanvanrathi .
Kanvar-carrying pilgrims, called Kanvarias, carry covered water-pots in kanvars slung across their shoulders. This practice of carrying Kavad as a part of religious pilgrimage, especially by devotees of Lord Shiva, is widely followed throughout India (see Kavadi). Yatra means a journey or procession.
Bol Bam : Bol-Bam refers to pilgrimages and festivals in India and Nepal glorifying Shiva (aka Bam or Bum). The festivals run during the monsoon month Shawan (August–September). After taking water from the Ganges river (or other nearby river that wind up in the Ganges) the pilgrims, known as kanwariya or Shiv Bhaktas (disciples of Shiva), are mandated to travel barefooted.
In saffron robes with their Kanwar (walking sticks used to hang the urns of water) for 105 km by various routes and usually in groups made of family, friends and or neighbors, and return to their own local or other more prestigious and larger Shiva Temples to pour Gangajal on Lord Shiva (Shiv Linga).
On the march pilgrims continuously sprinkle any and all talk with "Bol Bam" (speak the name of Bam) and sing Bhajans (hymns) to praise his name.
The Yatra : The month of Shravan is dedicated to Lord Shiva and most devotees observe a fast on Mondays during the month, as it also falls during the chaturmas period, traditionally set aside for religious pilgrimages, bathing in holy rivers and penance.
During the annual Monsoon season thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims carrying water from the Ganges in Haridwar, Gangotri or Gaumukh, the glacier from where the Ganges originates and other holy places on the Ganges, like Sultanganj, the only place where the river turns north during its course, and return to their hometowns, where they later they perform abhisheka (anointing) the Shivalingas at the local Shiva temples, as a gesture of thanksgiving.
While most pilgrims are men, a few women also participate in Yatra. Most travel the distance on foot, a few also travel on bicycles, motor cycles, scooters, mini trucks or jeeps. Numerous Hindu organizations and other voluntary organizations like local Kanwar Sanghs, the Rashtryia Swayam Sewak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad setup camps along the National Highways during the Yatra, where food, shelter, medical-aid and stand to hang the Kanvads, holding the Ganges water is provided.
Smaller pilgrimages are also undertaken to places like Allahabad and Varanasi. Shravani Mela is a major festival at Deoghar in Jharkhand, where thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims bringing holy water, from the Ganges at Sultanganj, covering a distance of 105 kilometres on foot. Here till about 1960, the yatra was confined to a few saints, old devotees, and rich Marwaris of neighbouring cities, and the phenomenon has seen considerable rise in the recent years.
Once the pilgrims reach their hometown, the Ganges water is used to bathe the Shivalingam on the Amavasya (New Moon) day in Shravan month or on the Mas Shivratri Day.